The Man Behind The Red Mask
by that1crazaychik
Summary: "Now, I know you're all wondering... who's the man behind the red mask? Who is the mysterious Scarlet Speedster? Well Central City, tonight's your lucky night." A season 4 AU in which Barry's identity is revealed to the entire city. {With A Dash of Boliver}
1. Chapter 1

The elevator doors slid open and Oliver Queen walked into the hallway of Star Labs. It truly baffled him how Team Flash could get away with so little security. As he made his way towards the cortex, a tall, slim man in pyjamas, a housecoat and slippers entered the hallway in front of him.

"Um…" he stared blankly at Oliver, nose red and eyes puffy. "Can I help you… sir?"

"Oliver Queen, here to see Barry Allen." Oliver replied with a smile.

"Right!" the tall man said. "Ralph Dibny here to tell he's over that-a-way." He pointed down the hall towards the cortex and his arm began to extend at his wrist, stretching like silly putty and flopping uselessly to the ground. Oliver stared at it, eyes wide.

"Oops," Ralph said, staring at his hand that was now on the ground. "So much for secret identities…"

He looked back at Oliver and extended his arm at the wrist until it was at handshake height.

"Elongated Man at your service!" He said.

"Uh thanks, I'm going to find Barry." Oliver said, avoiding the handshake, and skirting past Ralph.

"Good idea," Ralph said, pulling his hand back to its regular shape. The two of them made their way towards the cortex.

Barry was busy running some data with Cisco when he heard Ralph call from the hallway.

"Hey Barry, do we like Oliver Queen?"

Barry and Cisco both turned to the door to see Ralph and Oliver enter.

"Cause he totally saw my stretchy… thing and that would really suck if he was a supervillain." Ralph continued. Barry smiled.

"Oliver! How've you been, man?" Barry greeted Oliver with a handshake, knowing he hated hugs. "What are you doing in Central City?"

"I had to come up for some last minute business so I figured I'd come give my favourite speedster a visit." Oliver replied with a smirk.

"Oh, so he already knows. Phew!" Ralph said, relieved. Barry scratched the back of his neck.

"Uh… Oliver this is Ralph Dibny, the newest member of Team Flash." He said.

"Yeah, we met in the hallway… he did his… stretchy …" Oliver looked for the right word.

"Yeah, my bad" Ralph mumbled while Oliver thought.

"Thing…" Oliver finished, not being able to come up with anything better.

Barry smirked. "Yeah, it takes some getting used to."

Just then Iris entered and frowned upon seeing Ralph.

"Ralph I thought I told you to get some rest. That cold's not going away by itself." When she noticed Oliver, her frown turned into a smile. "Oliver. Hey, how are you? How's Felicity?"

"Good. She's good. We're… good" Oliver answered quickly, "I was just coming over to see if Barry wanted to have coffee or something since I was in town-"

Suddenly, a flurry of beeps came from the main computer and Team Flash jumped to action.

"We've got an active shooter at city hall." Cisco called from behind the computer.

"On it." Barry said, turning instinctively towards his suit.

"Right behind ya." Ralph sniffled.

"Maybe you should sit this one out Ralph." Barry said, "We don't need you sneezing your mask right off your face."

"Or your face off your face, for that matter." Cisco replied, putting on his Vibe goggles. Oliver shivered at the thought. Ralph shrugged his shoulders in agreement.

"Why don't I tag along?" Oliver said. Barry turned towards him.

"You've got your suit?" he asked, a small smile on his face.

"Come on Barry… I've always got my suit." Oliver smiled back.

"Let's go then!" Cisco said creating a breach. Barry sped Oliver his suit and they lined up in front of the breach.

"I don't have to remind you that none of you are bullet-proof do I?" Iris said, taking her seat at the computer.

"Don't worry," Barry said, pulling his hood over his eyes. "We'll be fine."

And together they jumped through the breach, landing on the sidewalk just outside city hall.

"Alright, do you see him?" Cisco asked. Oliver scanned the area, bow drawn and ready.

Suddenly a breach opened in front of them and a short young man in a black trench coat and a mask hopped out. Barry noticed two things as soon as he saw the man. Number one, his bangs were way too long and he looked seriously emo, and Number two, he was holding a gun that was not normal looking.

"Get down!" Barry yelled, but before he could speed to his friends he was hit with a blast of frigid ice and was knocked backwards onto the pavement.

"Look familiar, Flash?" the shooter asked, a wicked grin on his face.

"Where did you get that?" Cisco asked. Oliver didn't wait for the answer. He shot an arrow directly at the shooter, but before it could reach its target, the man pulled a small device out of his pocket and breached himself out of harm's way.

Oliver quickly helped Barry to his feet and drew another arrow.

"Did he have an extrapolator?" Barry asked.

"And a cold gun?" Cisco added, "Yes…yes he did."

"Who is this guy and why does he have your tech?" Oliver asked, scanning the area once more.

"Good question…" Cisco said, holding his hands up offensively, watching carefully for the man to reappear.

Barry put a hand to his ear, switching on his con.

"You guys got anything for us?"

Before he could get an answer a breach opened behind him and the masked man jumped out, wrapping his arm around Barry's throat. He then thrust a small Taser-like object into his side which glowed orange and crackled with electricity. Barry grabbed at the man's arm, gasping in pain and struggling to break free from his grasp. Cisco and Oliver turned towards the pair, arrows and vibes ready.

"Pretty neat, hunh?" The man said, holding up his little Taser. "I made it myself. I call it the Meta-Taser. It temporarily dampens any Meta's powers, including yours, Barry. Though I really have to give credit to you, Cisco. I couldn't have done it without you."

Barry tensed up at the mention of his name. Cisco noticed and he hoped to god the masked man didn't.

"Who the hell are you?" Cisco said, raising his arms again. "And what the hell are you talking about."

The man smirked, tightening his grip around Barry's neck.

"My name is Arthur Knowles, and I'm the one who's going to end The Flash."

With that, he pulled out his extrapolator and let himself fall into the breach behind him, dragging Barry down with him.


	2. Chapter 2

A breach opened in the middle of the cortex and Oliver and Cisco jumped through. Oliver was the first to speak.

"We need to find everything there is to know about Arthur Knowles, now!"

"Already on it!" Caitlyn called, she was already furiously typing away at the computer. Cisco jumped into the chair next to her and began typing on his own computer. Iris stood behind the desk, eyes fierce, hands placed firmly on her hips.

"Where is Barry?" She asked, a hint of worry breaking through her stern façade, "What the hell happened out there?"

"He took Barry," Oliver answered, pulling his hood down and taking his mask off. "Drug him through a breach; we've no idea where he went. So a better question would be who the hell is this guy and what does he want?"

Iris glared at him a few moments, and then she let whatever anger or frustration melt away. She turned to her team, game face on.

"Cisco. Anything?" She asked.

"Yeah, a few arrests for a string of thefts going way back…" Cisco answered, flashing Arthur Knowles mugshot on all the screens throughout the cortex. "He's got a degree in mechanical engineering and seems to put it to use pulling off elaborate bank and jewel heists."

A flurry of beeps sounded from the desk, as all the screens in the cortex went black. Iris turned to Cisco for an answer.

"Uh… we're being asked to join a video chat…"

"Ransom?" Ralph offered. Iris jumped into action.

"Answer it."

"Masks on everyone," Cisco said as he clicked the accept button and every screen in the cortex lit up with Arthur Knowles' face, still masked.

"Good Evening Team Flash, so nice of you to join me."

"Where is the Flash?" Iris demanded, wasting no time. Knowles smiled wickedly.

"Easy there Iris, no need to worry… Barry's right here with me."

"What are you talking about?" Iris countered, a little too quickly. Arthur let out a small chuckle.

"Listen, guys, we can cut the secret identity crap." He said, leaning towards the camera. "I know Barry Allen is the Flash. I know Cisco Ramon is Vibe. I know Oliver Queen is The Green Arrow. I know everything there is to know about what's going on at Star Labs. So let's just cut the crap and get right to it, shall we?"

"How the hell could you possibly know that?" Cisco said through gritted teeth.

"I'm so glad you asked Cisco," Knowles said excitedly. "You see ever since the Flash showed up committing a crime in Central City got exponentially harder. Perfect jobs were foiled because The Flash would swoop in and take the tires off your getaway. It was getting so… frustrating."

Knowles clenched his fists angrily, and then slowly let his frustration dissipate with his next thought.

"So I figured I'd do something about it. I started tracking The Flash's movements, trying to find his weakness or something to stop him, and soon enough I noticed that whenever the Flash was finished with a crime scene he'd always run in the same direction. I was soon able to narrow the field and found that every time The Flash appeared he was running to or from… drum roll please… the one and only Star Labs!"

Knowles smiled, clearly pleased with his discovery.

"It didn't take me long to hack into your systems and boy I found some nifty stuff: plans for new Flash suits, cold guns, extrapolators and Meta-cuffs. Not to mention a load of medical records on a Mr. Bartholomew Henry Allen." Knowles put a finger up to his temple, "That's when I thought 'Now why would Star Labs, the HQ of the Flash, have records for Mr. Allen. It didn't take me long to figure it out after that."

"God, we need better security…" Cisco mumbled under his breath. Iris set her jaw.

"Bravo. You figured it out. Now, where is he?" She demanded.

"Don't worry. You'll get to see your precious Barry…" Knowles said, sneaking a quick look behind him. He turned back with a sneer on his face. "Along with the entirety of Central City…"

"What are you talking about?" Oliver demanded, even though they all knew exactly what he meant.

"Please," Caitlyn tried to reason. "Don't do this."

"Too late." Knowles spat. "I can't take down The Flash by myself, but luckily I have my fellow Central City citizens. You see, Barry will be too busy with other Metas and the press coming after him and his family, he won't even have time to be The Flash. And then I can finally get back to work.

"You are not going to get away with this." Iris threatened. Knowles laughed.

"I hate to be cliché Iris, but I'm afraid I already have."

The screen went black and the team stared in shock. A second later every TV in the cortex lit up and Arthur Knowles' voice sneered from the speakers.

"Good Evening Central City!"

"Cisco?" Iris demanded.

"He's streaming live to all of Central City… every screen, every –"

"Can you get a lock on his location?" Oliver interrupted.

"I'm on it!" Cisco exclaimed, hands clattering over the keyboard. Knowles' face sneered on every screen.

"You may not know who I am but I have a very special treat for you this evening. A _real_ live Meta-human, but not just any Meta... I present to you: The Flash!"

Knowles stepped aside theatrically to reveal Barry cuffed to a chair, his head lolled against his chest and his hood pulled back.

"Oliver, we have to do something," Iris said, panic seeping into her voice.

"Cisco?" Oliver pressed.

"I've almost... got it..." Cisco said through gritted teeth, typing furiously.

"Now, I know you're all wondering... who is the man behind the red mask? Who is the mysterious Scarlet Speedster?" Knowles smiled mischievously. "Well Central City, tonight's your lucky night." He stepped towards Barry.

"Cisco!" Oliver demanded.

Too late. On the screen Knowles grabbed hold of Barry's hair and yanked his head up, revealing his bloody, beaten face to the world. He was obviously unconscious, had a black eye and a split lip, but there was no denying... it was Barry Allen. Iris gasped clasping her hand to her mouth. Cisco stopped typing. Oliver's heart sank.

"Bartholomew Henry Allen," Knowles said, pronouncing every syllable crisp and clear and lacing every word with disgust and hatred. "Known to his friends and family as Barry… _awe_…"

Knowles gave a little pouty face, clearly enjoying every minute of this torture. "Barry works as a CSI at CCPD but secretly he runs our streets, stops crime and saves lives as The Flash!" Knowles let Barry's head drop back onto his chest.

"Oh, Barry..." Oliver said under his breath. His heart ached for his friend. After everything The Flash did for this city, he did not deserve this.

A flurry of beeps came from Cisco's computer. Everyone's attention shot to the sound.

"I've got it! I've got the location." Cisco said, grabbing for his Vibe gear.

"Let's go." Oliver said without hesitation.

"Wait!" Iris said and everyone turned to her, shocked.

"What do you mean wait?" Ralph said. Iris swallowed hard, holding back tears.

"If Vibe and The Green Arrow show up to rescue Barry... there'll be no denying that he's The Flash." Iris said, "They haven't seen him use his powers yet... we could still fight this."

The team was silent for a second.

"Is that what you want Iris?" Oliver asked, mask already on. Iris stared at him for a moment, tears running down her cheeks.

"No." She said, her voice breaking. "Go."

Everyone turned back to the screen as Cisco and Oliver disappeared into a breach.

"His centre of operations is Star Labs, and if you dig deep enough into their staff I'm sure you'll find the identities of Vibe, Kid Flash, Killer Frost and Elongated Man." Knowles leaned closer to the camera. "Have at 'em, Central City."

A breach suddenly opened behind Barry and two figures jumped out as an arrow was shot straight into the camera and the feed went black.

"Hands in the air, Knowles." The Green Arrow commanded, an arrow pointed directly at his chest.

Knowles smiled.

"The damage is done, Mr. Queen. Even if I let Barry Allen go, there are hundreds of criminals and metas who are dying to get their hands on the Flash and everyone he loves. He'll never be safe, not at home, or at CCPD or even at Star Labs. He will spend his whole life running. Which is kind of… _ironic,_ don't you think?" Knowles smirked, leaning towards Oliver jeeringly, "Without their secret identities Central City's precious super heroes are nothing."

"No." Oliver said, glaring down the shaft of his arrow. "Barry Allen will never be nothing. You on the other hand..."

"What are you going to do? Shoot me?" Knowles taunted.

"Don't tempt him." Cisco replied.

"No, I'm not going to shoot you; I'm going to do much worse." Oliver said as he let his arrow fly straight through Knowles shoulder, pinning him to the wall. Oliver strode over to the man squirming in pain as Cisco rushed to Barry's side.

"Well… maybe I am going to shoot you," Oliver said coolly, grabbing Knowles by the chin as he cried out in pain. "Either way, you're going to be sorry you ever touched Barry Allen. Arthur Knowles… You have failed this city."

Oliver drew his fist back and punched Knowles, hard, knocking him out cold. Before he could do anything else his friend called from behind him.

"Oliver!" Cisco called. Oliver turned around and moved quickly to his friends' side. Cisco was fiddling with the cuffs locking Barry's arms behind the chair.

"Barry?" Oliver gently lifted the younger man's chin off his chest. "Barry!" There was no response. "What's wrong with him, why won't he wake up?"

Cisco continued to fiddle with the cuffs.

"He must've given him a sedative, which wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't wearing these sad excuses for Meta-cuffs. His metabolism would have already burned through it by now, but without his speed…"

"Barry?" Oliver tried again, shaking his shoulders lightly. Barry's eyes opened just slightly and he grimaced slightly.

"O... Ollie..?" He asked quietly "wha's… going on…"

"Barry!" Oliver exclaimed, "Hey... Barry, you're going to be fine, kid."

Barry's eyes closed again and his head slumped back on his chest.

"Barry? Barry!"

"Finally!" Cisco got the cuffs off and Barry's body slumped forward into Oliver's arms.

"Let's get him back to Star Labs." Oliver said, picking the younger man up, and slinging his arm over his shoulder.

"What about him?" Cisco asked, nodding towards Knowles. As much as Oliver wanted to shoot an arrow straight through that guys chest, he knew Barry would hate him for it.

"Can you send this location to CCPD?" Oliver asked.

"Already done."

"Then let's go."

Cisco nodded, created a breach and they jumped through together, supporting Barry between them.


End file.
